- You can’t believe you’re supposed to put used toilet paper in that tiny trash bin in the stall.
- You freak out when a nicely dressed young woman snorts mightily and hawks a lugie the size of a baseball into the street, raising clouds of dust.
- You’re terrified to cross the street – even with the green light and a crowd of people.
- You don’t know about VPN and your Facebook friends think you’ve died in China.
- You have “This is China” moments five times a day.
- You buy a “jīn” of everything.
- You believe the air pollution ratings on the news.
- You read the People’s Daily daily.
- You buy movies from the iTunes store, not at the local DVD shop.
- You think CCTV 9 is just China’s version of CNN.
- You’re stuck in chapter 1 of book 1 of Practical Chinese Conversation.
- You say “xiè xie” to everyone for everything.
- You buy Tylenol™ Cold, not the local equivalent at half the price.
- You feel relieved when you see another foreign face.
- You challenge the logic of “èr” vs. “liǎng” in counting things.
- You pay for software.
- You need tissues to blow your nose.
- You let old ladies cut in front of you in a queue.
- You think you’re dying when you cough up black stuff in the morning.
- You attend “networking” events hoping to make useful connections.
- You wonder what’s in those “sex shops” you see all over the city.
- You think people actually sing in KTV lounges.
- You are dismayed when the non-smoking section is right next to the smoking section.
- You think Chinese women naturally have perfect complexions.
- You have yet to identify what that funny smell in the air is.
- You can’t believe it takes five people to put their seals on 15 pieces of paper to do any transaction at the bank.
- You still think eating Peking Duck is a special treat.
- You think the suit you bought at the Silk Market will last a lifetime.
- You don’t have a wallet bursting at the seams with point cards.
- You email folks back home with newly learned Chinese words in pinyin with tones indicated by numbers – “ni3hao3” – and they think you’ve lost it.
- You can write things like “Beijing is a vibrant city, bustling with energy, and new adventures to be found around every corner” without bursting into laughter.
- You don’t know who Kaiser Kuo is.
- You don’t have at least three “shānzhài” clone products.
- You can’t say “Běijīng” with the correct tones.
- You can’t say “Sanlitun” like a pirate.
- You think people will laugh at your jokes about Beijingers sounding like pirates.
- You actually carry your passport and work permit with you at all times.
- You “face” all the bills in your wallet.
- You’re not sure why the bank runs 100 RMB notes through the bill validator before they give you the money.
- You know Jenny Lou’s is expensive but you shop there because they sort of speak English.
- You think you might find true love on a Saturday night in Sanlitun.
- You can’t say your cellphone number in Chinese.
- You have your bags scanned at subway security.
- You desperately need your hair styled but you’ve heard one too many horror stories about hair salons where staff doesn’t speak English. (females)
- Your hair is always cut a bit too short because you’ve discovered those stories about barber shops are true. (males)
- Your Chinese name doesn’t mean “hairy monkey with hemorrhoids.”
- You believe it when Chinese people compliment you on your Chinese.
- You think “gee, that’s cheaper than back home” means it’s actually cheap.
- You lack the courage to try whatever it is locals are eating for breakfast near the subway station.
- You think pinyin was designed specifically to drive foreigners crazy.
- You haven’t found a favorite “jiǎozi” place yet.
- You have only one mobile phone number.
- You desperately hope someone will compliment your skill with chopsticks.
- You’ve bought 1000-year-old eggs, hard-boiled salty eggs, and then finally fresh eggs.
- You’re shocked to discover that brand names like “Starbucks” in Chinese sound nothing like they do in English.
- You don’t know you’re supposed to have the vegetables weighed and price-tagged before you pay at the register.
- You believe you’ll finish reading The Analects of Confucius.
- You are fascinated by the old guy on a bike slowly pedaling his bird somewhere.
- You self-censor your emails … just in case.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
59 ways to tell if you're new to Beijing
I thought this list was pretty funny, and after living here for 2 years find most of them to be true :)
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